In live entertainment, singers, or vocalists, are one of the most prevalent type of performers. This is especially true for live music events, which can range from large venue concerts to weekly services at local houses of worship.
Typically, when there is only a single vocalist, he or she will utilize a microphone to sing into and at least one speaker to function as a monitor. The monitor allows the vocalist to hear himself or herself while on-stage. This type of set-up is generally acceptable for a single vocalist. Problems arise when there are multiple vocalists singing in close proximity to each other.
If, for example, there are six vocalists on stage, there might be six microphones, each with a connecting cable. It is often difficult, if not impossible on a small stage, to provide each vocalist with their own monitor speaker. Some acts attempt to share monitors between 2 or 3 vocalists, which has not been an effective solution. It is very difficult to sing in tune and with correct timing during a live show. The difficulty is magnified when there are multiple vocalists in close proximity who are each trying to hear only themselves over the other vocalists. The only viable solution is to provide each vocalist with a set of headphones that is sending them the vocal feed from their amplifier channel. With the headphones in use, along with the microphones, each vocalist is responsible for at least two cables that are on the stage. When the two cables each are multiplied by the number of vocalists, the stage can quickly become cluttered and un-sightly. Also, having a large number of cables on stage presents a danger of someone tripping over the cables.
Obviously, a better solution is required. If it were possible to present each vocalist with a single-cable that provided microphone amplification and headphone monitoring, the benefits would be significant. Stage clutter would be reduced, safety improved and each vocalist would have their own personal monitoring system.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any literature or patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention. However, the following U.S. patents are considered related.
PAT. NO.INVENTORISSUED7,488,187Wolf16 Feb. 20096,902,427Kuo 7 Jun. 20056,530,085Periman 4 Mar. 2003
The U.S. Pat. No. 7,488,187 discloses a dual channel XLR cable converter that includes a first and a second RCA cable. The two cables terminate at first and second RCA cable connectors at one end and a XLR cable connector at the opposing end. A first signal pin terminal of the XLR cable connector is in electrical communication with the first signal wire of the first RCA cable. A second signal pin terminal of the XLR connector is in electrical communication with the second signal wire of the second RCA cable. A common ground pin terminal of the XLR cable connector is in electrical communication with the first grounding wire of the first RCA cable and a second grounding wire of the second RCA cable. Therefore, the XLR cable converter can be used for conveying single channel RCA cable signals over dual channel XLR cable.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,902,427 discloses a terminal assembly for a personal computer that integrates an S-video and a composite video terminal into a single socket on an electronic device. The socket includes inlets for separately carrying S-video and composite video signals. The socket can be connected to provide an S-video signal to another device using a standard S-video cable.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,085 discloses a system and method that reduces the complexity of interconnecting various consumer electronics devices. One consumer electronics device forms a central hub to which all other consumer electronics devices are connected by a set of connectors. The connectors are identical and interchangeable in that a cable designed to connect a consumer electronics device to an Internet terminal may be plugged into any of the connectors and operate properly.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention relates, reference may be made to the following remaining patents found in the search.
PAT. NO.INVENTORISSUED7,446,258Sosna et al 4 Nov. 20087,416,440Homyk et al26 Aug. 20087,241,179Chennakeshu10 Jul. 20076,809,256Garland26 Oct. 20046,583,360Yudashkin24 Jun. 2003